Hipster Halloween Costumes You Probably Shouldn’t Wear

If you live in Portland, Los Feliz, Williamsburg, or another hipster neighborhood in America, you're probably familiar with these all-too-common Halloween-costume choices. We're here to protect you from being that guy, no matter where you order your PBRs.

Definite Don’ts

A Lumberjack or Old-Timey Bartender
Coming up with a Halloween costume using hipster stuff you already own is convenient and all, but it’s not going to win you cool points with anyone—even diehard hipsters will think it's kinda lame.

A Day of the Dead Skeleton
We've seen one too many tall, skinny white guys in sombreros for one lifetime. Do not let your girlfriend convince you that this is a good costume. Just let her be Frida Kahlo and go ahead and do your own thing.

The Half-Assed Nothing Costume
Being too cool for Halloween is not cool. Either go for it or stay home, order pizza, and watch horror movies. Slapping on a striped shirt and vampire teeth and telling everyone you’re a French vampire doesn’t make any sense.

All the Wes Anderson Characters
We get it, Wes Anderson characters are extremely costume-friendly, but at this point, you just look unimaginative. Especially if you’re going as Richie Tenenbaum, Steve Zissou, or the kid from Moonrise Kingdom. Find a new favorite director already.

The Annoyingly-Specific-Reference Costume
Please don’t be Banksy graffiti or a reference to some obscure song from an obscure band no one knows. Working really hard to show everyone how underground you are is only going to make you look basic in the end.

On Probation

Freddie Mercury, Waldo, The Dude, and Karl Lagerfeld
These are just a few hipster favorites that are kind of tired at this point. You see them at the party and you’re like, “Yeah, there’s that guy.” Unless you plan on completely nailing it and the costume feels really appropriate for the type of party you're going to, maybe don't?

The Year’s Hipster Favorite

Wet Hot American Summer
With the TV show making this hipster movie popular again, there should be plenty of ’70s camp counselors running around this year. We'll give it a firm pass for 2015—but let's not get carried away and ruin it for future Halloweens.